Acer Helios 300 – Best Budget Gaming Laptop?

If you are searching for the best budget gaming laptop there are many different options to look out for. In Addition to that Acer recently updated their Predator Helios Line-up. Acer added a redesigned Predator Helios 300 PH315-52, and a brand-new Predator Helios 700 PH717-17. Although in this article of Laptopedia we will be reviewing the Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52. So is Acer Helios 300 the best budget gaming laptop? Should you buy the Acer Predator Helios 300? Continue reading to find out.

Before we review it, let’s take a look at its specs

Specifications of Acer Helios 300 PH315-52

Screen

15.6 inch

Resolution

1920 x 1080 px

Refresh rate

144 Hz

Processor

Intel Core i7-9750H

GPU

Intel HD 630 + Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB

RAM

16 GB DDR4

Storage

256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD

Connectivity

Killer 1550i AC WiFi with Bluetooth 5.0, Killer E2500 Gigabit LAN

Ports

1 x USB 3.1 Type C, 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI Port

Battery

58 Wh, 180 W power adapter

Dimensions

390 x 266 x 26.75 mm

Weight

2.7 Kg

Keyboard

RGB Backlit

OS

Windows 10 (64 bit)

DEsign of Acer Helios 300

Front Panel of Acer Helios 300 (Source:- www.acer.com)

The Acer Helios has a premium design with the top surface made of aluminum in addition to the keyboard deck. The only place where plastic is used is the bottom panel. But that isn’t a huge problem because usually, plastic is a good conductor of heat. For heat dissipation, there are two fans. thus the temperature of the laptop doesn’t get high easily. The only problem is that fans get pretty loud while using the laptop in the turbo mode. Also, it weighs 2.7 Kg which is good considering the aluminum build.

Display of Acer Helios 300

The Display of Acer Helios 300 comes with a remarkable 144Hz refresh rate. Because of such a high refresh rate, the gaming experience will be pretty smooth. Acer claims its response rate is as low as 3ms, which is equivalent to 0.003 seconds. There are two options to choose from while selecting the screen size. Either you could select a 15.6-inch screen or a massive 17.3-inch screen. As each coin has a head and a tail, the downside of this massive screen size is reducing the ease of portability. Also, the color coverage, contrast, and peak brightness are only above average. As a result, you should keep this laptop indoors and add an external screen for accurate colorwork like editing. Overall the display is pretty good for daily use and an exceptionally good option for gaming.

What is a refresh rate?

The refresh rate is a measure of how many times the TV redraws the image on the screen. So higher the refresh rate, smoother the viewing experience. When someone says it is a 60Hz display, it means that the screen will refresh or show 60 Frames Per Second. Don’t confuse these Frames per second (FPS) with in-game FPS. As in-game FPS could be low due to hardware bottlenecking it.

Keyboard and trackpad of Helios 300

4 zone RGB Keyboard of Acer Helios 300 (Source:- www.acer.com)

The Helios 300 2019 Model has a 4 zone RGB lighting keyboard. The lightings can be customized using the Acer predator sense app (not all 2019 models have RGB lighting keyboard). Since the keyboard deck is made up of metal it feels very premium. The keystrokes are also good, there would be little to no problem in those long typing sessions. The Trackpad is a windows precision supported trackpad and it is given glass finish so hovering over it is very smooth.

Processors in Helios 300

The Helios 300 2019 model comes with a Hexa Core Intel Core i7 -9750H. As Acer has marketed the helios as a gaming laptop it comes with a dedicated GPU, the 6 GB of Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060. Not the SUPER version but the regular one. There are other models as well which have a GTX 1660 Ti. Also in order to handle daily, not so graphic intensive graphics, it has an integrated GPU as well the Intel HD 630. Given the powerful dedicated GPU, you can run almost any games at nearly 60 FPS. And the 144 Hz display adds a cheery on the cake giving you a smooth gaming experience

RAM and storage in Helios 300

The Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52-77ya Model comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Similarly, the GPU has GDDR6 type memory. If you want your machine to do multitasking with ease this one is right for you. After that the storage option is also great, you get 256 GB SSD. As a result of which you get faster read and write speeds thus making bootups and file sharing faster. Now if you are a gamer 256 GB storage is obviously not good to store your various Triple-A titles. So, don’t worry you even get a 1 TB HDD to store all your important data.

Battery Life in Acer Helios 300

This is probably the only segment where Acer Helios lags behind compared to other laptops. It comes with a 58 Wh, 4 cell battery. Although Acer Claims it to give you a backup of 6+ hours it hardly gives around 5 Hours while doing pretty basic stuff. In addition, while using the Nvidia GeForce 1660 Ti, this would last as low as 3 Hours. As a result, if you are thinking of using it outdoors, think twice. You get a 180W AC adaptor with it to charge the machine. The adaptor is comparatively lightweight so it shouldn’t be a problem to carry it around outdoors.

” Is a 3 cell battery better than the 4 cell battery, which lasts longer? “

It depends on the input of the battery, how much is the mAh of the battery if 3 cell battery has more mAh combined than a 4 cell battery then 3 cell battery is more likely to last long. Also, battery life is not entirely dependent on the number of cells. It also depends on the processor and other hardware. The more powerful the hardware is the more battery juice it will draw.

Connectivity and ports in helios 300

Connectivity-wise you get Killer 1550i AC WiFi with Bluetooth 5.0 and Killer E2500 Gigabit LAN support. For ports, there are 1 USB 3.1 Type C, 1 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0 and 1 HDMI Port. Because of the abundance of ports, you can easily plug external Keyboard and mouse and still have ports left. Sadly there is no thunderbolt port.

Final Verdict

In India, the price of the Acer Helios 300 2019 model is 1,19,990 INR (around 1750 USD). Which is okay when you consider the 144Hz Display, i7 Processor and GTX 1660 Ti GPU. One thing should be noted here that the prices may vary depending upon which model you have selected from the Helios 300 line-up.

Should You Buy It?

If you are searching for a mid-range gaming laptop then this one is right for you. It gives you value for money and its 144Hz Full HD IPS panel won’t let you down. Although before buying we suggest you check out the different versions of Acer Predator Helios 300 2019 line-up before buying, so you don’t get confused with few variations in the machine and know what are you getting into. Click here to check out different versions of Helios 300.

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